Do you read book reviews?

[simonroyle]

It seems that many book purchases are driven by the number of good reviews a book has or not.

Do you decide to buy books based upon a review?

[ASparrow]

Answers 2, 3 and 4 are all equally valid for me, although a cover will surely attract me, a sample is necessary to seal the deal. Sometimes a blurb is enough. Reviews are like covers to me, they attract me, but I need to have proof that the writing style is tolerable, thus I answered with number 3. One can't always trust that reviewer's tastes are compatible with your own.

[mediax]

Pretty much the same as ASparrow - I tend to use reviews and the dust jacket blurb to get an idea of whether the plot appeals to me. If I'm interested, I usually read the first page or so and a couple of random samples from the middle of the book to see whether I like the author's style.

Then I take a photo of the front and back cover with my mobile phone and store them in my "to buy" list until I buy the e-book

[Seanette]

Originally Posted by simonroyle

It seems that many book purchases are driven by the number of good reviews a book has or not.

Do you decide to buy books based upon a review?

It's more likely I'll decide opposite to what the reviewer has to say, given how frequently poorly written or morally offensive material (by my personal standards, YMMV) is gushed about and fawned over by critics.

I do see a lot of lockstep among critics. Either the herd leader likes something or hates it, in which case the followers fall over themselves to follow the leader.

I'm much more inclined to buy books based on word-of-mouth from friends or family members, knowledge of that author, or what I see leafing through the book itself on display.

[rhadin]

It depends on the book, but I chose the "sometimes" answer.

I will often buy a fiction book without having read any reviews. More important to me than a review (as regards novels) are the description, the price, and the sample, which is why I tend to buy most of my fiction at Smashwords.

But for nonfiction reviews are very important to me and I often buy a nonfiction book that has gotten a good review in the New York Review of Books. I pay no attention whatsoever to reader reviews at places like Amazon and Smashwords, largely because I have no way to judge the quality and knowledge of the reviewers. In contrast, I give great weight to reviews in publications like the New York Review of Books, Atlantic Monthly, Smithsonian, American Heritage, and the like -- but primarily for nonfiction; the fiction they tend to review is not fiction that particularly interests me.

The question in my mind is less the number of stars or reviews but the credibility of the reviews and the reviewers. In the Internet Age, determining credibility has become increasingly difficult.

[Latinandgreek]

I never, or at least very rarely, buy a book without reading a review (the only time I'll buy a book without reading a review is if it is a new book from a favourite author of mine), but reviews are not the only thing to factor into my choice of purchase.

[mldavis2]

Reviews work for me IF I either know the reviewer, or if there is a large number -- a representative sample -- from which to choose. A good example of why reviews aren't always a reliable source of information is the wide range of reaction to the Stieg Larsson trilogy.

[Tattncat]

I picked the sometimes answer, because "sometimes" the review is relevant to the story, rather than publishing hype. I tend to pick my books, from authors whose work I am familiar with as well as a lot of new authors. In regards to the new authors (new to me), I go by a combination of subject, genre, blurb, cover and lastly review. I check out a lot of the freebies and samples out on the I-net and have found many new authors, that way. Please be aware that as a retiree, I devote an unusual amount of time to reading.

[ficbot]

Well, most of the choices you offer seem predicated on the assumption that there always IS a book review---one of the reasons I started reviewing Smashwords book was because nobody else really seemed to be doing it.

I do prefer reviews. I remember getting some Fictionwise multiformat books which did not have samples or reviews but had cool-sounding blurbs and then the books were total clunkers. If there is no review AND no sample, I won't touch it anymore no matter how cool the concept.

For indie books, I prefer to sample since not enough people are writing objective reviews yet. But for best-sellers available on amazon, I will check the reviews and decide to either buy immediately, wait for the library or not read at all.

[Penforhire]

I never read reviews before buying a book, too many spoilers. I like to read reviews AFTER reading the book. Sometimes I see a perspective or theme I missed. Other times I'm just amused by our differing experience. I started writing reviews of my current reads, posting at LibraryThing. Gives me a small satisfaction to weigh the book and commit to my own review.

[sony_fox]

None of the options are really applicable to me.

I don't think I've ever bought a book based solely by reviews, and many times I'll never have read any of the reviews. I'm curious to read reviews afterwards though and see how my opinions matched up.

Mostly I buy books from authors I've previously enjoyed. I stumble upon new authors by various means (often recommendations at LibraryThing, and sometimes interesting reviews there), and in these cases I'll certainly read some amount of Sample beforehand, but often only a few pages. An interesting cover could (pre-ebook) persuede me to flick through a few pages, but doesn't directly influence purchase decisions.

[Pomtroll]

I always read reviews. BUT I sometimes buy a book even if the reviews are not favorable because the book sounds good to me.

[mldavis2]

I like ficbot's post. For those of you who have a vast history of having read everything in sight, you can combine your own likes with your own experience. In my case, recently retired and finally (!) able to devote some serious hours to reading, I struggle to get through the vast classical library which has, for me, so long been ignored. In addition, I am not a fast reader (the K3 is helping me speed up, however), having spent my life reading technical literature for content, not discretionary literature for fun.

So when I venture away from 'Frankenstein' and 'Dracula' into Sci-Fi, I do rely on recommendations to help me avoid paying for a 'dud' or wasting time on a freebie when there are so many others worth of my attention.

So I will begin trying to find an outlet for my own comments and reviews of books I'm reading. Would that others choose to do the same....

[alecE]

I use reviews to alert me to titles I'd miss otherwise. Good example is the survey of sf titles in last week's New Scientist.

[TGS]

A review by an unknown reviewer might get me to find out about an author, whereas I might buy something on the strength of a reviewer whose reviews I trust.